Jury Awards $36M To Couple Injured In Freeway Crash In Beaumont

RIVERSIDE (AP) — A Southern California jury has awarded $36.48 million to a couple from Mumbai, India who was injured in a freeway collision two years ago.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports the jury in Riverside made the decision Friday.

Jaishree Sheth and her husband Prakash were traveling on Interstate 10 in Beaumont on March 26, 2010 when a big-rig truck attempting to pass them struck their vehicle. The impact caused the couple’s Toyota Camry to spin out of control, hit the median and another car before swerving across the freeway and coming to a stop on the edge of a wash.

The couple’s attorney, Brian Panish, said Jaishree Sheth was paralyzed after the crash and requires 24-hour attendant care.

During trial, he argued that the driver of the Schneider National truck had been taking turns with his wife driving for 82 hours straight.